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Community lives!

There’s been a lot of talk in recent weeks regarding what would happen to NBC’s recently cancelled cult hit. Originally, reports claimed the only saving grace for the series was a pick-up by Hulu, but when those talks fell through, new reports claimed a second outlet had jumped into negotiations and, in a last minute hail-mary, it’s been revealed that company was Yahoo! Screen, which has ordered a 13-episode sixth season of the sitcom. This is the kind of thing that happens once in a blue moon, an emerging media outlet (or established one in this case) sees an opportunity to put itself on the map in a way no one would have ever expected, in a way that blows its competition out of the water, and in a way that will keep it in the collective conversation for the foreseeable future. But the thing is, blue moons don’t seem that rare anymore.

It’s not uncommon for an outlet to use the fandom of a cancelled series to gain traction, in fact it’s exactly what Netflix did when it resurrected fan favorite, Arrested Development. What makes Community’s resurrection fascinating, however, is its timing. We’re not talking about a series that’s been long dead and brought back after years of fan campaigning, we’re talking about an emerging outlet stepping into the conversation of network negotiation. That is the truly interesting part, that Yahoo! would dare take a stab at renewing the comedy before its June 30th deadline on cast deals expired. Surely, Yahoo! could have waited until the expiration of the deals, but by grabbing the show now it sends a very distinct message: the media company wants to be as much a part of the television conversation as Hulu and Netflix are now.

Looking back on it, it appears as if the internet based company’s been preparing for this day for a while. It was back in March the particular company division in question announced it was launching a Roku app, which, in actuality, was following the announcement of an Apple TV app back in November. The company also recently launched its only major digital series, Burning Love, on E!. Simply, went we look at the timeline, Yahoo!’s been flying under the radar for far longer than any of us realize, and this snatching up of Community is the end of the first stage in the company’s grand plan to make itself the next Netflix.

Will this be the way emerging digital outlets make themselves known in the future? Will cancelled broadcast series, like a television version of The Hunger Games, do battle for the chance to win out on that one slot from a new media player? There was once a time where this would be considered a rarity, an isolated incident, but Community’s now simply another addition on a list that includes The Killing and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Have we seen the beginning of television’s future in this new deal?

Does a series cancellation really mean anything anymore? Does fan campaigning actually make a difference in today’s niche driven media world? These are the questions we’re left to ponder in this new age of television free-for-all. But, for the moment, while the consequences of it are many, we can all sit back and revel in the fact that another cult-series has been saved from the jaws of cancelation by the least-likeliest of sources.